LuxLive Middle East focuses on booming hotel sector

The Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach has been shortlisted for a Lux Award. Design is by CRG, the architect is DXB Lab and the lighting control system was supplied by Lutron. The winners will be announced at the LuxLive Middle East event at 4.30pm on Thursday 14 April at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre.

With the hotel sector booming in the region, next month’s two-day lighting event, the LuxLive Middle East exhibition and conference in Abu Dhabi, will have a special focus on lighting for hotels and hospitality.

Top hotel lighting experts – including Sally Storey of Lighting Design International, Paul Nulty of Nulty+, Courtney Mark of CD+M, Michael Grubb of Michael Grubb Studio and independent lighting designer Regina Santos – will be sharing their expertise and insights in a special afternoon session of talks, workshops and panel discussions on Wednesday 13 April.

Sally Storey of Lighting Design International will discuss trends in hotel lighting

Innovations for hotels on show at the exhibition will include myRoom by Lutron (booth 4115), a lighting control system specifically designed to operate luminaires, heating and cooling and motorised shades in hotel rooms and high colour-quality lamps for hotels from US manufacturer Soraa (booth 710).

The Lux Awards – taking place at the show on Thursday 14 April – will reward excellence in lighting at hotel, restaurant and leisure projects.

At 1pm on Wednesday 13 April, Paul Nulty of award-winning independent lighting design practice Nulty+ will discuss ‘branding with light’. He will outline the techniques used to major organisations to brand their interiors with light.

How light in hotels can contribute to the ultimate guest experience is theme of the presentation by London-based international expert lighting designer Sally Storey at 1.30pm. She’ll explain how lighting in hotel interiors can create excitement, make food look magical and guests feel special. She’ll look at recent award-winning hotel and restaurant lighting projects from around the world and explore how they make their spaces stand out.

At 2pm, Martin Klaasen of KLD will name the ‘10 things I wish I’d known before I started my LED roll out’. LED rollouts can reap big benefits in terms of energy savings - but getting them right isn't easy. Here he looks at the key mistakes to avoid.

Delivering impact with Light is the title of a presentation at 3pm by award-winning lighting designer Michael Grubb. He will use case studies from recently completed projects to demonstrate how light can be used to transform leisure, hospitality and visitor experiences.

Lighting designer Rodrigo Roveratti tells us how to design without downlights at 3.30pm. While these workhorse fixtures unquestionably have their place, the challenge of designing without them almost always leads to more satisfying and creative installations.

Hotel lighting and the principles of creating the right atmosphere is the subject of the talk by Courtney Mark of CD+M at 4pm.

These presentations are followed by a panel discussion on trends in hospitality lighting. Out panel of experts consider the big trends in lighting for hotels, restaurants and the leisure sector. What is driving the trends? What are the expectations of customers? And what is the direction of travel? And where should we look to for inspiration?

After the panel discussion, Ammar Mohamed, Royal Court affairs looks at a the Al Angham restaurant, the first of its kind in Oman. He reveals what makes the project special and how it differentiates itself from other restaurants.

All in all, LuxLive Middle East is unmissable for anyone involved in hotel interiors. And best of all it’s free if you pre-register!

LuxLive Middle East takes place on Wednesday 13 April and Thursday 14 April 2016 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre. You can view the whole programme and pre-register at www.luxlive.ae.

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